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‘Hemmings publications’: 560 Posts

Despite the outcry over Paris officials’ decision to ban cars older than 2011 from the city earlier this month-and the fears that nobody may again see Citroen 2CVs in front of the Eiffel Tower-it appears Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo intends to make an exemption from the ban for historic vehicles.

As announced and authored by Hidalgo herself in an effort to reduce the levels of smog in the city, the plan calls for trucks and buses registered before 2011 to be excluded from within the Boulevard Périphérique starting this July, then all cars registered before 1997 and motorcycles registered before 2000 next July, then ultimately all vehicles registered before 2011 by 2020. No exemptions for classic cars or penalties were announced in the initial round of details.

However, according to the Fédération Française des Véhicules d’Epoque (FFVE), the French arm of the Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens (FIVA), Hidalgo has stated in a radio interview on French station BFM that collector vehicles will not be affected by the Parisian Plan de la Qualité de l’air—the legislation that calls for the ban. In addition, Tiddo Bresters, FIVA’s vice president of legislation, said that FFVE has received a letter from Hidalgo herself stating that historic vehicles—those 30 years or older—will be exempt. As the FFVE pointed out in one of its recent news blasts, though, no such exemption has yet appeared in the text of the PQA.

Noting that historic vehicles represent 1.5 percent of the vehicle fleet in France, but 0.15 percent of kilometers traveled, the FFVE has formally requested that Hidalgo and Alain Vidales, France’s secretary of state for transport, to confirm the exemption.

Editor’s Note: This post marks the editorial debut of Zach Higgins, who otherwise spends his days as a graphic designer for Hemmings Motor News.

As a graphic designer with a keen eye for minimalism (though my workspace would say otherwise), every once in a while I come across a project that makes me stop and wonder, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

The latest offering from Chicago-based designer Jerome Daksiewicz does just that. Prior to forming his solo studio NOMO in 2010, Daksiewicz worked as an architect and environmental designer. And, while NOMO offers a range of design services to its clients, Daksiewicz found great success after creating a series of posters depicting airport runways in their simplest forms. After growing the series from four to almost 50 prints, he expanded the idea further to include racetracks and golf courses. Most recently, however, he’s found inspiration in a new subject: the front ends of cars.

“The idea actually came from a car nut friend,” Daksiewicz explains. “He knows the type of design work I prefer, which often tries to find a beauty in the items typically overlooked and tends to be represented minimally.” Ford seemed like the natural manufacturer to start with, as most of the men in Daksiewicz’a family were themselves Ford workers.

BMW and Porsche Auto Icon screen prints.

So, the first print features the 28 most iconic Ford designs illustrated in trademark colors with the crisp sort of line quality that calls to mind the architectural renderings of Daksiewicz’s past. Though purchased separately, BMW, GM and Porsche round out the first set of posters. “I love how you can see certain design elements evolve over time,” he notes, “and how all the prints have a similar rhythm, from top to middle to bottom.”

With four posters completed, Daksiewicz turned to Kickstarter to begin the funding process. Whereas a poster designer once had to front the (often expensive) costs of screen printing themselves, the online crowd-funding platform has allowed designers to pre-sell their posters, relying on the generous backers to offset the initial cost. Thankfully for Daksiewicz, his modest goal of $1,500 was far surpassed, as 658 backers have pledged $29,299 at the time of writing.

What does this mean for Daksiewicz? Well, he’s since expanded the poster series from four to eight prints, and if you don’t see your favorite grille up there, he’s open to suggestions for which models to tackle next. Printing for the posters will begin when the Kickstarter campaign comes to a close on March 17th. The 18” x 24” posters are available for $25 apiece, with delivery expected sometime in April. If you miss them on Kickstarter, prints will soon after be sold on NOMO’s website, at a price of $30 each.

In 1972, Dodge cut the number of Charger models in its product line from the six offered in 1971 to three. While Rallye-trim Chargers could still be ordered with the 330-horsepower, 440-cu.in. “Six-Pack” V-8 (at least theoretically), Dodge knew the days of the muscle car were limited, and it began to seek new a new type of customer. As this ad shows, one marketing direction was to pitch the 1972 Charger as a sensible and economical family car, but one with a sense of style.

Equipped with the “proven economy run winner” 318-cu.in V-8, the 1972 Charger would have produced 150 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque, and carried a base sticker price of $2,759, including such amenities as dual-speed wipers, a cigarette lighter, roof drip rails, wheel well moldings, and dual range horns. Those seeking even more frugality could opt for the 225-cu.in. slant-six engine, which produced less horsepower but lowered the base price by just over $100.

As it turned out, the 440 Six-Pack V-8 would not pass new federal emission standards in 1972, and only a handful were built in this configuration. The 440 Magnum V-8, which produced a still-respectable 280-horsepower, became the enthusiast engine of choice, but the glory days of performance Chargers were now in the past.

Despite the condensing of the product line (and the subsequent reduction in horsepower), Dodge managed to sell a total of 75,594 Chargers in 1972, compared to 82,114 in 1971. Model sales increased again for 1973 (to 119,318 units), so clearly the Charger’s change in direction was embraced by the buying public.

West Virginians, we apologize for your state’s underrepresentation in our carspotting series. To date, we’ve only visited the state once – in October 2013 via a couple of Jack Corn’s photos for the Documerica photo series. It’s to Corn and Documerica that we turn again for today’s two glimpses into rural West Virginian life, circa April 1974: Above, Main Street in Dehue, which Corn describes as a Youngstown Steel company town; and below, heading into the town of Chattaroy, a town that Corn describes as having no industry at all. What do you see here?

An Illinois parts dealer who created an institution in the world of automotive history, Ernest Robert Hemmings, the father of Hemmings Motor News, died early today at the age of 89. Ernie, as he liked to be called, was living in a nursing home in his hometown of Quincy, Illinois. He had been in fading health of late and died peacefully in his sleep, his son, Trent Hemmings, told us.

Ernie had taken over a parts business that his late father had founded, Standard Auto Parts, and began stocking components for antique Fords, especially the Model T and Model A. That was in 1945, when Ts and As were not quite yet out of the realm of used cars. Ernie was a fan of them, however, and Standard developed a regional and then national reputation as a parts source for early Fords. The growing interest led Ernie to a brainstorm: Create a newsletter that catered specifically to the owners of these obsolete cars that weren’t yet considered relics. Customer friendly from the start, he offered free ads to readers.

The first edition of the newsletter was four pages, printed on mimeographed paper, issued in 1954, and all typed by Ernie’s hand. He also came up with a freehand logo, Hemmings Motor News. The first edition of “the magazine,” as he called it from the outset, had a half-dozen classified ads in it. About 500 readers signed up for a yearly subscription to Hemmings, priced at 50 cents.

It only took a few years for Hemmings Motor News to become an established forum for people who wanted to buy cars or parts to restore them. Soon, circulation was up to about 3,000 copies each month. Ernie had transitioned from parts retailer to editor and author, typing out short features that ran amidst the growing number of classified advertisements. Another decade saw both the magazine’s page count and subscriber rate boom, in the latter case to 40,000.

By that time, the whole enterprise had become too unwieldy for one man to handle. In 1969, Ernie agreed to sell Hemmings to Terry Ehrich, a classic-car enthusiast from Bennington, Vermont, who moved the magazine there and continued to grow and operate it until he died in 2002.

Hemmings Motor News and its three associated titles—Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Muscle Machines and Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car—now boast a combined readership in excess of half a million, and the Hemmings blog sees an equal number of unique viewers every month. While the home office is still in Bennington, Hemmings is an operating unit of American City Business Journals, based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Rivieras were never meant to be stripper cars—even in base form, they’re rather well equipped—so why not embrace the luxury and load ‘em on up? That’s what the original owner of this 1964 Buick Riviera for sale on Hemmings.com did, adding the top-of-the-line dual-carburetor 425 and just about every option available that year, and it looks like it’s all remained with the car these 50-plus years, even through a restoration a few years back. From the seller’s description:

fully restored, all numbers matching, first year, and a one year only 1964 Buick Riviera Super Wildcat with every conceivable option offered through Buick. The 1965 Buick Riviera Grand Sport does have the same motor but the body of the car was slightly different. This is a truly amazing find since 37,658 Riviera’s were built this year only about 5 percent were built with this option! Only 2122 cars to be exact. Also included is the original black license plates!

Lets go over the incredible list of options that this particular car was born with. Remember these are options and do not come standard. Most of these options are coded on the cowl/ trim tag (marked by a *) and the ones that are not coded on the tag did not have their own code to include on that tag. The reason is there were no body modifications that needed to be done to install these options on the assembly line. No extra holes to be drilled in the body as an example. No body modifications means there is no code on the cowl / trim tag to tell the assembly guys what to do with the body to accept that particular option. Keep in mind these un-coded options were still born with the car and are original to it.

Now lets go over the restoration on this car done in 2004: – new exterior and interior paint – rebuilt motor and trans – all new chrome and polish throughout – rebuilt A/C, brakes, suspension, rear end, and drive shaft – new interior wood trim – new upholstery, carpet, and headliner – new tires – new chrome grille – reconditioned stainless throughout – new dash pad

There were some modifications done over the years that are not factory to the car but all of these additions could be removed with ease. These extra options are: – white upholstery instead of the factory black – I-Pod connect – trunk mounted amp – Halogen front head lights – side exhaust instead of the factory exhaust under the rear bumper – ceramic coated exhaust manifolds

This again is a numbers matching car including the engine, tranny, and rear end. The VIN and the cowl / trim tag were never removed for authenticity. It also has the original Carter carbs, intake manifold, exhaust manifolds, radiator, A/C condenser, air cleaner assembly, all sheet metal, bumpers, all accessories, keys, glass, brakes (rebuilt), pedals, and the distributor. I am sure there are more to the list but how much time do you really have to read it?

How does the car drive and look? It runs, drives, shifts, and brakes like new! Full power to be had and holy cow does it move! It rides like your on clouds with absolutely no shakes, rattles, or rolls. Starts right up every time with no issues. You can drive this coast to coast and back effortlessly. Come drive it and see for yourself. Just a pure pleasure. The paint, chrome, stainless, upholstery, carpet, headliner, dash, dash pad, wood trim, grille, and wheel covers show extremely well and would easily be beautiful enough for any distinguished car show in the country. Again from barely 5 feet away everything shows like new!

There are some few minor cosmetic flaws as one might expect in a 10 year old restoration. From 5 feet away you would not see one of them. Put your eye on it and you will find very minor flaws here and there. Keep in mind they are minor. But I do want to list them since most do not and could not show in the photos. Also some of the things that were rebuilt in the past might need some attention. I honestly believe $2000 to a expert would fix most.

These flaws are as follows: – door jams are super clean but the paint is slightly faded as with the trunk jams – exterior paint has some flaws due to when the car was color sanded. They just didn’t pay attention to every inch like they should have. I believe a color sanding expert can fix most. – engine compartment could use a little cosmetic work. Don’t get me wrong it is very tidy and clean but doesn’t show new. – The door trim panels on both sides of the car once barely rubbed the door jam every time one would open and close the door. This did create a little vinyl damage in a very small area that has yet to be addressed. – A/C sometimes does not blow cold – the cruise control will go on but will not hold the speed – high beam dimmer is disconnected – dash speaker is disconnected – floor mounted Sono-matic stereo selector does not work.

Here are some of the stamping and casting numbers that I have found to help with the authenticity of this numbers matching car. I will from time to time as I find more in the near future ad to the list: -Engine block stamping # 7K1043299 (matches VIN – original to the car) -Intake manifold #B1357106L (only for the Super Wildcat) -Engine block ID code #KX (1964 only and only for the Super Wildcat power plant) -Head casting number #B1196914J

The 1930 Minerva AL that took Best of Show at Boca Raton. Photo by Robert Stolpe Photography.

Like many manufacturers of luxury automobiles, Belgian brand Minerva felt the squeeze of the global economic downturn that followed the Great Depression. Despite falling sales, Minerva pressed on with construction of its 6.6-liter AL model, first shown in 1929. A mere 50 were built, of which eight are known to survive; last weekend, a 1930 Minerva AL three-position cabriolet with coachwork by Van den Plas earned Best of Show honors at the 2015 Boca Raton Concours d’Elegance.

The early history of chassis 80139 remains a mystery, at least until the car surfaced in the United States in the late 1970s. After lengthy negotiations, the unrestored Minerva, named for the Roman goddess of wisdom, was acquired by marque aficionado Philippe Boval, who returned the car to his native Belgium for a thorough restoration. In 2004, the car surfaced again, this time back in the United States, when it was purchased by a California collector.

Once again in need of restoration, the Minerva was shipped off to the Alan Taylor Company, which had previously handled the reconditioning of several Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance winners. Built to a standard expected by European royalty, the Minerva needed few replacement parts. Many of the car’s components, however, required reconditioning, and the entire process consumed an estimated 18,000 man-hours, spread over nearly three years.

The car was completed in time for the 2007 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, where it captured first-in-class honors. The Minerva received an invitation to Pebble Beach that year as well, where it not only captured a class victory but also received a nomination for Best of Show. In the years since, chassis 80139 has racked up awards at concours across the United States, including La Jolla, Rocky Mountain, Keels and Wheels, and Greystone.

In March of 2014, the regal Minerva, with its gleaming silver-plated fixtures and near-silent Knight sleeve-valve engine, crossed the block at the Gooding and Company sale in Amelia Island, Florida. The car failed to meet its reserve price, but caught the eye of Judge Joseph Cassini III and his wife Margie, of East Orange, New Jersey. Within a month, a deal had been struck, and two months later the car continued its winning ways, earning Best in Show honors at the 2014 Greenwich Concours d’Elegance. The car’s victory in Boca Raton (where it also won the European Classic category) carries on that proud tradition, and it’s a certainty that this understated Belgian will continue to pose a threat on the show circuit.

Ford’s GT40 is, perhaps, the automaker’s best known purpose-built racing car. It’s hardly the Blue Oval’s only dedicated racing car, however, and next month a pair of lesser-known competition Fords, including the “direct descendent” of the GT40, will highlight a new exhibition at Britain’s National Motor Museum entitled “A Checkered History.”

As the 1960s gave way to the 1970s, Ford U.K. was struggling to turn the production Escort sedan into a competitive rally car. Though the compact two-door had proven its reliability on tough off-road stages, its lack of speed proved detrimental on the growing number of tarmac stages run in European rally events. After a disappointing finish for Ford at the 1970 Rallye Monte Carlo, the head of Ford’s U.K. racing efforts, Stuart Turner, began discussing ideas for a new competition car with driver Roger Clark.

As Turner explains it, the result was the GT70, a car that “virtually came to life on the back of a postcard.” Unlike the GT40, which was tasked with beating Ferrari at Le Mans, the GT70 would be responsible for beating the Porsche 911 and the Renault Alpine A110 in speed stages of rally events, especially those at high altitude where the Escort struggled the most.

Turner enlisted the help of Len Bailey, the chief engineer on Ford’s GT40 project, to design the body and chassis of the GT70. As with the GT40, the GT70 would embrace a mid-engine layout, with power going through a transaxle to the rear wheels. Designed to support a variety of engines, the one originally chosen for the project was Ford’s 2.6-liter V-6, which produced a respectable 125 horsepower in stock trim.

The first prototype was completed a mere nine months after Turner and Clark first hashed out the idea of the car on the flight back from Monte Carlo. A total of five prototypes were built (though six were originally planned), and to save money the corporate parts bin was raided as much as possible. Testing commenced, and the car made its competition debut at the September 1970 Ronde Cevenole road race, where Clark’s day ended early with engine, suspension and braking issues. The GT70, with its aerodynamic fiberglass body, may have been light enough for competition, but it was not yet durable enough.

Across the Atlantic, Ford in the United States seemed somewhat indifferent to the idea of a limited-production homologation special, built to deliver wins in a sport largely ignored by Americans. Development changes through 1971 and into 1972 (such as swapping out the GT70′s 2.6-liter V-6 in favor of a 1.6-liter Cosworth DBA four) improved the car’s performance, though it still failed to deliver consistent results. Oddly enough, the Escort, whose lack of speed prompted the development of the GT70, was now winning rally events, making the case for the GT70′s continued development harder to justify. Coupled with the numerous changes that would be required to transition the car from prototype to limited production, the decision was made to end the GT70 program by early 1973.

Ford RS200.

In the early 1980s, Ford was once again trying to prove itself in rally (now World Rally Championship) competition. Unable to compete with the likes of Audi and Lancia, Ford’s Motorsport group set off to design an all-new race car for Group B, the sport’s range-topping class. Dubbed the RS200, Ford’s effort would be powered by a 1.8-liter Cosworth BDT four-cylinder engine, producing as much as 450 horsepower in race trim and as much as 250 horsepower in the 200 road-going homologation specials produced.

To remain competitive with Audi, power would be sent to all for wheels, but via a rather complex drivetrain. With the transmission positioned in front of the engine, power was sent to the front differential first, then split and sent to the rear differential. Despite the complexity of the system, reliability never proved to be an issue, although added weight did hamper the RS200′s competitiveness.

Production began in 1984, but the car’s WRC debut was delayed until the 1986 season. In its first event, the Swedish Rally, the RS200 delivered a podium finish in the hands of Kalle Grundel and co-driver Terry Harryman. The car’s next outing, at the Rallye Portugal, would end in tragedy when driver Joaquim Santos lost control of his car and plunged into a crowd of spectators gathered on the inside of a corner, killing three and injuring over 30 more. The team withdrew for the remainder of the event, and struggled to produce results throughout the remainder of the 1986 WRC season.

Other fatal crashes during the 1986 season sparked the end of Group B competition, as the cars were deemed too fast to be safe. RS200s continued to be driven in rallycross and road racing competition, but the cars never produced the championship results Ford had hoped for. Despite this, the RS200 remains a sought-after collectable, and a reminder of a lost golden age in the world of motorsports.

Both the GT70 (restored by Ford in 2002) and the third prototype RS200 built will be on display at Beaulieu, the National Motor Museum in Brockenhurst, Hampshire, United Kingdom. The “Checkered History” display will be opened by Sir Stirling Moss on March 5, and will open to the general public on March 6. Far more than rally cars will be on display, as planned exhibits also include Graham Hill’s Lotus 49 R3, Damon Hill’s Williams-Renault FW18, a 1903 Gordon Bennet Napier, a 1929 Bloody Mary Bolster Special, a 1950 BRM 1.5-liter V16 Type 15 Mk1, and a 1962 Jaguar E-Type. For additional information, visit Beaulieu.Co.UK.

Parts car availability seems to be shuffling toward the realm of dinosaurs, VCR repairmen, desktop computers and hula-hoops, thanks mostly to the fact that with collector car prices being what they are, every candidate is now viewed as restorable. Some parts cars may be good enough to save; others, however, may require the replacement of 97 percent of their sheet metal to be reborn.

So what better time than now to talk about parts cars? Even if we can no longer find one, let’s look back to the days when rusty quarters plus a blown engine instantly translated into, “parts car.”

I’ve had a couple worth talking about, and as you can surmise by the title, I have had mixed results. There are parts cars that you buy to help you build another car, and there are parts cars that become parts cars due to the unfortunate discovery that they were in much worse condition than you first thought, or there is a paperwork issue.

Three guesses as to how I got my first parts car. Back in the mid-1980s, I bought a ’66 GTO to restore. The owner was moving and had to sell. He was asking $1,800, I offered $900 and he took it. I was 19 years old and very happy. After leaving a $100 deposit, I came back a few days later with the balance of the cash and a flatbed. We exchanged money and the title. I matched the VIN on the title to the car and it was fine. I checked the name, but it wasn’t the same as the guy I was buying it from. He casually explained that he had purchased the car about four years before and never titled it in his name, so the name on the title was of the previous owner. Red flag—promptly ignored.

I took the GTO and title anyway and headed home. The next day I went to complete my part of title and confirmed that I was in fact an idiot. The previous, previous owner mistakenly signed the title under buyer and not seller. I went to motor vehicle anyway and surprise, the title was rejected. According to N.J. DMV all I could do was find the owner and have him apply for a new title, get it and then sign it over to me.

Remember, this was way before the Internet, so finding people wasn’t nearly as easy. Regardless, I actually found him. He worked as a bartender at a restaurant about six miles from my house. I bought the car about an hour from my house in the opposite direction, so it was fate right? Everything was going to work out. When I went to see him, I explained the situation and told him that I would of course pay for everything, and he agreed to follow the DMV procedure.

I never saw or spoke to him again after that. He was never working each time I went to the restaurant, nor did he respond to my phone messages. After chasing a ghost for a few months, I finally decided to part out the car. Don’t cringe, it wasn’t a horrible loss of a great GTO (see photos). It was a $900 GTO with Le Mans grilles, the wrong engine and trans and enough rust that it probably should have been a parts car in the first place. The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth, but I still made pretty good money on it once I sold off the parts, which helped finance buying the ’67 GTO I still own.

The second parts car was a 1980 Firebird Formula that I bought in the early 1990s for $250 (if memory serves), simply because I wanted the 15×7 aluminum Snowflake wheels to put on my 1977 T/A daily driver. A kid who was about two years behind me in high school had this car. I had seen it around town and spoke with him a couple of times because I had the Trans Am. It was a 301 car, black over silver with red trim and interior. I later heard that the engine had blown and the car was for sale. I paid the money and he even offered up free delivery. He called AAA and told them that his Formula’s engine blew up and he had to have the car taken to where it was going to get fixed, which turned out to be my driveway.

I lived in an apartment in the center of town at the time, and the driveway was behind the building and was surrounded on three sides by walls. It was really for parking only. I wasn’t supposed to be working on car stuff there or in the basement for that matter. (So of course, I had already swapped a 455 engine into the Hurst/Olds and swapped a four-speed into the T/A in that driveway.)

Nobody complained, so hey, why don’t I part out a car too? It took a while, the car got stripped down to basically a bare shell, and I made some money. The landlord complained, so I had it dragged away, and then I moved sometime later. I couldn’t fit the 2.56:1 limited-slip rear into the truck when I left, so I’d be willing to bet that 22 years later it’s still sitting where I left it in the basement of my building. Nevertheless, it all worked out, and the parts from this pretty wasted Formula contributed to many other peoples’ projects, including my T/A.

You’ve now heard the stories of my parts cars, let’s hear yours. Did buying a parts car get you the parts you wanted and help finance your project when you sold off the rest? Even if it didn’t have a happy ending, it’s probably still an interesting story that any car guy or girl can relate to, so please share it.

Reader Harvey P. Berliner doesn’t think we’ve had enough snowy carspotting scenes in our series, which is why he sent along today’s photo of 221st Street near 94th Road in Queens Village, New York, dated 1971, showing a good layer of the white stuff on everything. That white stuff should add a little challenge to identifying the cars parked along 221st. What do you see here?